Page 9 of Unraveled By the Duke
He pulled at the ankle, and the woman turned and kicked out at him. Her foot caught him on the side of the jaw, and he fell onto his back with a grunt.
The thief scrambled away, but Alexander lay between her and the door. She stopped in the middle of the room, clearly having nowhere else to go.
It was then that Alexander realized this was no thief, but a woman he had met before, standing before him in her undergarments.
“What are you doing here?” they asked in unison.
Is this an attempt to seduce Maxwell? She is in his quarters, after all, and stripped of her outer clothes. What is she up to?
“I needed to clean my dress. It was ruined and… Did you not see it out there before the fire? Did you not see Miss Dunnings?”
Alexander pushed himself up and rolled his shoulder carefully.
“I think that vase was probably antique,” he noted, looking at the shards of porcelain.
“I thought I was being attacked,” Celia replied defensively.
“Who would dare?” Alexander muttered, touching his jaw where she had kicked him.
Celia folded her arms beneath her breasts. In her state of undress, it did interesting things to her bosom. Alexander found his eyes drawn there until he remembered the proper behavior of a gentleman.
She glanced down and raised her folded arms to cover her breasts, her eyes blazing as she stared at him.
How fierce those eyes are! How alluring in their passion! She is an Amazon when she is roused.
Alexander knew he should leave the room, probably apologize for walking in while she was in her shift.
Part of him railed at the notion that he had done anything wrong. How could he have expected to find her hereandin this state? She was stunningly beautiful, with her hair loose and her cheeks flushed.
“A man claiming the title of gentleman did dare, or would have,” she scoffed. “I do not make a habit of swinging vases at people.”
“For that, the porcelain collectors of England must be eternally grateful.”
“Do you derive pleasure from belittling people, particularly those beneath your rank?” she demanded, stepping closer as though she had forgotten her vulnerability in her anger.
“No. Do you derive pleasure from assaulting people above your rank?” Alexander shot back.
I am being boorish, but there is a challenge in her eyes that I cannot ignore. I do not want to ignore it.
Alexander could feel his heart hammering in his chest, his breath coming quicker than the circumstances warranted. It was not just the altercation that had his pulse racing. It was the ferocious beauty standing before him.
“Yes, when they deserve it,” Celia affirmed.
“Did I?” Alexander said, stepping closer without conscious thought.
A few feet separated them. Their voices were rising.
Alexander could feel the heat rising to his face, matching the color on Celia’s. Her lips were parted, and her chest was heaving, though she tried to disguise the fact. She licked her lips.
Alexander kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, though they wanted to roam up and down her body. The shift she wore clung to her, accentuating her curves much better than the dress she had discarded.
For a moment, she was silent. Except for her eyes, which seemed to communicate more than words ever could. The air between them felt charged as though by the passage of lightning.
Had he moved closer without realizing it? He felt he could reach out and touch her, while she had been on the other side of the room mere moments ago. At least that was how it seemed.
“Probably not. No, you did not,” she relented at last, looking down.
Alexander felt as though he had been released from a spell. He inhaled deeply, breaking the surface of the dark pool into which he had dived, breathing for the first time in an age.
